Expulsion of the merchants
One of Jesus' most overtly political act was to drive they money-changers from the Temple in Jerusalem, depicted here in "Expulsion of the merchants from the Temple" by Guercino (1591-1666), New Street Museum, Genoa, Italy. (Public Domain Photo via Wikimedia Commons)
Occasionally, in the work that I do, I hear from people hesitant to get involved because they feel like organizing and collaborating to achieve a common goal is too political and they think the Church, or perhaps church people shouldn't be involved in politics.
Broken down, being "political" simply means that a person or group of people is taking action for the purpose of influencing the way something is structured or changing how a system functions.
I could pretty easily make the case that Jesus was political; that he engaged the world in ways that were perceived as political. They were perceived that way in his original context, and they would certainly be perceived as political today.
I could also make the case that, in The UMC, one of the primary reasons we're so far behind in correcting unjust policies and practices is because too many of us – centrists and progressives – have been unwilling to organize and collaborate to create meaningful change precisely because some perceive it as political.
But the case I really want to make is that the work I do, the work Reconciling Ministries Network does, the work that Reconciling United Methodists everywhere engage in is indeed political and so much more. All of these emails, text messages, phone calls, slide decks, zoom meetings, blog posts, workshops, fundraising, tool kits, strategy sessions, legislation, vote counting, training events ... all of it ... is worship.
It's worship. It's prayer. It's service. It's witness. It's living out our baptismal and confirmation covenants. It's working together to interrupt harm. It's working together to do all the good we can. And that honors God.
My faith informs and dictates my politics. It commands my political involvement. I'm not afraid of being called political. I own it. I'm called to it. I'm proud of it. I'm grateful for and proud of your involvement. I hope you are too. #ForEveryoneBorn #YourMovementYourMove
Laura Young headshot
Laura Young
Laura Young serves as an organizer for Reconciling Ministries Network. This post is republished with permission from her Facebook page.